Ossington Holy Rood

Organ

The positive organ

The console and pipes of the positive organ are on the west wall of the nave. The organ is believed to have been taken from a London church in 1913 and paid for by the Ossington Estate at the instigation of Lady Elinor Denison. It was built to a Casson Patent by the Positive Organ Co. Ltd., London. It has one set of keys which can be transposed by pressing in the transposer stop and twisting it; this moves the keyboard a semitone either way. This results in either raising or lowering the pitch by up to a whole tone. In 1967 it was repaired and an electric blower was installed.

The barrel organ

The barrel organ is on a wooden platform at the bottom of the tower where it is reached by a ladder. It was built by Robson and Son of St Martin’s Lane, Charing Cross (organ builder to William IV) in 1836. It was restored by Bishop and Son of London and Ipswich in 1968, and completely restored again by Aistrupp Hind of Lincoln in 2006 when evidence for the date of its construction was found. It has its own set of pipes but is geared to the electric blower of the positive organ below. The barrel is rotated by hand.

The organ has four barrels made of wood; two originals, one made sometime later and the most recent one made in 1976. The last was made in Oakham through local connections with Schofield and Dawkins. Each barrel has staples driven in at set positions. The keys to the organ are fixed above the barrel and are lowered into place on the barrel so that when the barrel is rotated by turning a handle the key is raised which plays the note.

The three early barrels each carry ten tunes and the most recent one carries eight. The tunes and the hymns which are usually sung to them are shown in the table below.

Barrel 1 (about 1840)
     Tune    Metre    Hymn
1   London New   CM   God moves in a mysterious way
2   St David   CM   Christ has gone up
3   Canterbury New   CM   Jesu, grant me this I pray
4   Angel   LM   Forth in thy name, O Lord, I go
            Come gracious spirit, heavenly love
5   Rockingham   LM   My God is Thy table
            When I survey the wondrous cross
            O God of Love
6   Winchester   LM   On Jordan’s bank the Baptist’s cry
            Ride on, ride on in majesty
7   Providence   7777   On the waters
8   Innocents   7777   Conquering kings
9   Sicilian mariner   8787   Souls of men, why will ye scatter
            Jesus calls us o’er the tumult
            Bright the vision that delighted
            May the grace of Christ our Saviour
            Hark a thrilling voice is sounding
            Through the night of doubt and sorrow
10   Advent   878787   Lo! He comes with clouds descending
Barrel 2 (about 1840)
     Tune    Metre    Hymn
1   Aurelia   76767676   The Church’s one foundation
            From Greenland’s icy mountains
            In days of old
2   University Coll   7777   Oft in danger, oft in woe
            Captains of a saintly band
3   St Chrysostom   888888   Jesu my Lord
            O Thou before the world began
4   St Alphege   7676   The voice
            Brief life
            Heavenly Jerusalem
5   Oriel
(1st couplet not repeated)		       To the name of our salvation
6   Hanover   55555656   O worship the King all glorious above
            Disposer supreme, and Judge
7   St George   77777777   Come, ye thankful people, come
            Christ the Lord is risen again
8   Zwingli   CM   O God, our help in ages past
9   St Bernard   CM   Come ye who seek
            When wounded sore
10   Darwall   66664444   Ye holy angels bright
Barrel 3 (after 1836, before 1976)
     Tune    Metre    Hymn
1   Morning hymn   LM   Awake my soul and with the sun
            Where high the heavenly temple stands
2   St Anne   CM   O God our help in ages past
            The Son of God proclaim
3   Wiltshire   CM   Through all the changing scenes of life
4   Surrey (couplet missing)        
5   Mountain Ephraim   SM   This is the day the Lord hath made
            Come Holy Spirit
6   Abridge   CM   Be Thou my guardian and my guide
7   Old Hundredth   LM   All people that on earth do dwell
8   Sabbath   LM    
9   Carlisle   SM   Stand up, and bless the Lord
            Breathe on me breath of God
            Revive Thy work
10   Bedford   CM   Help us Lord
Barrel 4 (1976)
     Tune    Metre    Hymn
1   Holyrood   SM   Fair waved the golden corn
            This is the day
            Put thou thy trust in God
2   Morning Light   76767676   Stand up, stand up, for Jesus
            Jerusalem the golden
            Day of wrath
3   Nicæa   11.12.12.10   Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty
4   Easter hymn   7777   Christ is risen
5   Ravenshaw   6666   Lord, Thy word abideth
            Jesus meek and gentle
            Jesus meek and lowly
6   Nun Danket   67676666   Now thank we all our God
7   Love Divine   8787   Love divine, all loves excelling
            Come Thou long-expected Jesus
8   Winchester Old   CM   While shepherds watched their flocks
            When God of old came down

The barrel organ is used regularly at services.